


Loving You for Who You Are

by Ashwattaman



Category: Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside, 妖怪ウォッチ | Yo-Kai Watch, 妖怪ウォッチ シャドウサイド
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Please read the notes before commenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 17:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17308847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashwattaman/pseuds/Ashwattaman
Summary: After a confrontation with a particularly troublesome Yokai, Touma goes missing and Natsume grows worried about her friend. She then learns something about her friend...





	Loving You for Who You Are

**Author's Note:**

> Please read before commenting: This work deals with a disability (Autism/ASD), which is something I have myself and I've based it on my personal experiences with it. However, I fully understand that it wildly varies from person to person, so my work may not be accurate to your case of it if you happen to have it yourself. Thank you, and keep the comments civil.

Each week was roughly the same for the Yokai Detective team. Read a post on Usuranura, interrogate those troubled by it, find the yokai in question and confront them, rinse and repeat. Sure there was sometimes an extended case here and there, or the hypothetical curve ball sometimes, but it was usually pretty normal for the young team of yokai detectives.

 

However, one day something didn’t seem quite right. Sure, the group was victorious, nor was Shuten-doji or any of his underlings sending in a threat. But, something was still off, and it could be seen in the face of Natsume as she began her walk home in the sunset.

 

“Hey, Natsume, somethin’ the matter kid?” The familiar gruff voice of a red spectral feline asked, reclining near the Amano residence.

 

“J-Jibanyan? W-What are you doing here?” Natsume asked, pretty shocked to see the cat yokai on her way home. Thankfully he was in his far less intimidating Lightside form, but overall still shocking to see.

 

“I dunno, something about your place seems familiar, but I can’t quite scratch why,” Jibanyan, scratching behind his ears before folding his arms. “Plus you didn’t seem to be right. You’re usually a pretty chipper kid.”

 

The brown haired girl looked off a bit uneasy, not sure how to respond to the cat’s question. “Well, that’s true, though you were there...”

 

“Yeah, though I was only brought in to punch that yokai,” Jibanyan responded. “Which is good, but I never got a chance to really hear much about em. Though they were pretty freakin’ loud.”

 

“I see,” Natsume replied a bit glumly. “Well, the yokai in question was Nagabana, who was not only extremely loud but went on about complete and utter nonsense like crazy...”

 

“Ah, that was a yokai from my youthful days, seems they’ve gotten a lot worse with time,” Jibanyan added his thoughts into the matter, still listening. “Though, having to listen to such blabber at such a loud level could drive anybody to tears if I’ll be honest with ya, kiddo.”

 

“That’s actually what happened, but not to me, but Touma,” Natsume continued with her story to Jibanyan. “He seemed extremely upset, more than I think I’ve ever seen him, he could even barely do his summoning call to turn into Genma Goemon...”

 

“Huh, you think he’s gonna be ok?” Jibanyan asked, showing genuine concern. He was a pretty rough cat, but he did care about the wellbeing of the detective kids. That and chochobars, though not as much as Junior or that Fudo kid.

 

“I’d hope so, maybe he’ll be okay at school tomorrow,” Natsume tried her best to reassure.

 

“Don’t drown in your doubts kiddo,” Jibanyan gave his words of reassurance. “If the worst comes to the worst, don’t hesitate to call me like you always do.”

 

“Thank you,” Natsume finished, heading back home safe and sound. Hopefully the doubts will all be slept off and tomorrow could start fresh and new without any major troubles. That is, what Natsume at least hoped for.

 

* * *

 

The next day had started to roll around, and starting normal for the most part.

 

Though the anxiousness wouldn’t leave when she didn’t see Touma anywhere as she entered into school. Usually they would walk in together, at least after they’ve properly befriended each other.

 

“Maybe he might’ve just taken a different route today...” Natsume thought to herself, attempting to stay positive. Even if there was a bit of fear, like a hungry, wild alligator looming over a ship full of innocents.

 

For now, no doubts could try to sink Natsume down, she had to stay focused and not get too terribly worried.

 

Alas, as the hours in the school day went by, the girl’s worry about her friend had only gotten worse and worse. By the time the final bell had rang, Natsume had been pretty clouded up by worry. It started to become a lot more clear as the dread was really clouding up herself at this point.

 

“Hey, hey, Natsume!” The cheerful voice of one of Natsume’s friends, Saki called out, rushing up to her friend.

 

“O-Oh! H-Hey Saki,” Natsume greeted back, caught quite a bit off guard by the sudden presence of her close friend.

 

“You haven’t been you today, is something the matter?” Saki asked, keeping herself chipper yet concerned.

 

“Saki, have you seen Touma at all today?” Natsume asked, Saki putting one finger to her chin before putting it down, shifting into a shrug.

 

“No, I don’t even see Touma very much since we aren’t in the same class and all,” Saki responded. “I see him more with you than me if I’ll be honest. Is he not answering his phone or something?”

 

“I messaged him last night and before and after school and I haven’t heard anything back...” Natsume spoke up, worry clearly tainting her words at this point. Saki put her hand on her friend’s shoulder, trying to keep things a bit lighter.

 

“Well uh, he might just be sick or something? Why not go over to his place and see what’s up?” Saki suggested, a bit out of things to say but trying her best to help a gal pal in need.

 

“Maybe…Touma’s parents are always busy, but it might be worth a shot,” Natsume thought of, before nodding. “Thank you, Saki!”

 

“No problem! I can’t stand around and see my friends be all sad!” Saki finished, the braided hair girl waving goodbye before racing off, with a determined look on her face.

 

Hopefully nothing happened, like him getting kidnapped again, but if anything or anyone did, she would come fighting. She always kept Jibanyan and Komasan’s Arcs in her pocket at all times if things got too much to handle, and always carried Seiryuu’s arc out of habit.

 

Maybe the luckiness of the azure dragon’s protection will watch over her and her friends, and nothing too bad has happened. But if anything did, she would be ready to give whoever hurt her friend the biggest whopping she could manage.

 

With reasonable yet fast legwork, Natsume had arrived to the apartment complex the Tsukinami family resides in, going to the floor and apartment number as fast as she could, ringing the doorbell.

 

To her surprise, somebody actually opened the door with the sound of a click and the gentle creek of the door opening.

 

“Natsume?” The gentle voice of Touma’s mother, Mafuyu Tsukinami, greeted the fleeting young woman.

 

“Is...Is Touma here?” Natsume asked, clearly having been overtaken by a lot of her worries. “I haven’t seen him at school, nor has he been responding to any of my text messages...”

 

“Oh dear...” Mafuyu answered, before sighing a bit. “I actually got off work by some miracle to see if Touma was home…I don’t think he’s been home since last afternoon...”

 

Natsume only had silence and an utterly doomed look on her face. The calm mother of the Tsukinami family noticed this.

 

“Here, have a seat, you don’t look so good,” Mafuyu offered, Natsume nodding and sitting down on the couch in the living room. Sitting down seemed to help a little, being incredibly anxious and standing up after a run was never a good combination.

 

“Thank you it’s just...I’ve been worried about Touma...Like really worried...” Natsume admitted with a heaviness in her voice. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday, and he seemed so upset and disturbed that afternoon by all the noise from that day...”

 

Mafuyu looked a bit shocked at what Natsume said, before closing her eyes and opening them again after a heavy breath. “I’m not sure what you and Touma exactly do but...I think it’s about time I tell you something very important about Touma...”

 

“O-Oh?” Natsume inquired, seeming slightly uneasy but nowhere near as bad as she was when she first stopped by.

 

“You see, Touma isn’t exactly like his peers,” Mafuyu explained in a very gentle way to the teen girl. “In that he’s actually disabled.”

 

“Wait really?” Natsume responded, a bit shocked to hear the news, Mafuyu gently nodding.

 

“Yes, actually, it’s called Autism Spectrum Disorder, and it tends to have a very complicated definition that varies from person to person,” Mafuyu continued to explain further. “But in short it makes a lot of basic things like socializing, schedules, and overwhelming amounts of sensory at once very difficult.”

 

The brown haired girl was silent for a bit, having to take it all in. She wasn’t disabled herself like Touma was, so a lot of things must be really difficult for him...So no wonder he got absolutely broken over Nagabana yesterday...It must’ve really damaged him.

 

Though, one thing was for certain, and Natsume knew this to be true no matter what anybody tried to tell her.

 

“Even if Touma is different, he’s still my friend,” Natsume admitted with the up most honesty in her voice.

 

“I’m so happy to hear that, Natsume,” Mafuyu happily replied with to the teen girl. “There are some people who simply can’t accept those facts, but I’m very glad you’re one willing to accept that.”

 

“You’re welcome, and thank you for telling me that about Touma,” Natsume thanked, starting to make the motions to get up. “I’ll go and try my best to find Touma, and bring him back safely!”

 

“Thank you so dearly Natsume,” Mafuyu said goodbye to the girl, quite happy. “You’re truly a very kind soul.”

 

With that Natsume was off again, having a good idea of the first place to check for Touma. At least, where she might’ve thought to check first.

 

* * *

 

“Come out my Friend...Jibanyan!” Natsume called out, getting to a secluded area to not seem weird among everyday folks. With a turn of the Arc into the Yokai Watch Elder, the red cat yokai popped out into his Lightside form.

 

“Alright, who needs to learn a lesson…from my fists?” Jibanyan asked, balling one paw and slamming it into his other. Natsume rubbed the back of her head.

 

“Well…actually I need you to help me find Touma,” Natsume inquired, a bit nervous. “Cats have a good sense of hearing and smell, right?”

 

Jibanyan furrowed his eyes a bit. “You know you could have summoned up Komasan...Has it gotten to be that much of a habit?”

 

“Uhh...maybe?” Natsume answered back, before huffing under her breath “Curse you muscle memory...”

 

The two started to make their way to the meeting spot of the Yokai Detective team, when the chocolate scent of a familiar small yokai came close to the duo.

 

“Huh, whatcha two doin out here by yourselves?” The small, spherical red yokai asked, Junior, asked as he munched away on a chocolate bar.

 

“We’re looking for Touma-” Natsume tried to explain, Junior stopping his crunching upon hearing that.

 

“Jii-tan knows that Touma is in the office of the Yokai Detective agency,” Junior explained, before giving a shrug. “But Touma managed to close up the door really tight that I can’t get in.”

 

Natsume had a look of relief. Oh thank goodness he wasn’t kidnapped or hurt or anything...yet he was probably still hurt mentally. Jibanyan looked up.

 

“Well, we’ll see what can get that door opened faster: Natsume unlocking it, or my method of opening doors,” Jibanyan suggested, following Natsume to the office of the detective agency.

 

“Now where is it...Where’s my key...” Nastume pondered as she reached the door, fumbling around in her pockets to try and find it. Shoot...She must’ve left it at home, she didn’t think this morning since today wasn’t a meeting day…

 

“Mind if I help here a lil bit?” Jibanyan suggested, Natsume nodding.

 

“Yeah...I left my key at home...” Natsume admitted embarrassingly, as Jibanyan shifted into his much more large and intimidating Shadowside form. With a strong grip around the doorknob, the large red cat managed to get the door open. Sure it was by way of forcibly removing the doorknob assembly with strength and force, but if it got the job done, it got the job done.

 

“You _do_ know how to fix doors, right?” Jibanyan asked Junior, the latter seeming pretty annoyed. They were going to have to clean this up.

 

Natsume ran inside, seeing Touma curled up in one of the corners. He did not look very well in the slightest, which even such a sight made Natsume’s heart feel heavy…

 

“Touma…?” Natsume gently asked with concern.

 

“...Mmngh...” Touma barely to mutter out, seeming very distressed. Tears seemed to still be in the poor boy’s eyes.

 

The girl gently put her hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure things.

 

“Are you okay?” Natsume asked with concern, her heart getting heavy all over again…

 

“I’ve...I’ve never been okay...” Touma barely managed to speak up, pretty much choking on his words. “That yokai...made me realize I’ve never been okay and I’ll never be okay...”

 

“Hey now, none of that is true,” Natsume tried to reassure, Touma only shaking his head furiously in response.

 

“No...Natsume, you don’t understand,” Touma responded with doubts to the reassurance. “I’m literally not okay...I’m a nuisance, an annoyance, a mistake...I struggled with not being noticed yet...I wish I wasn’t! I wish I wasn’t a part of anyone’s life!”

 

Natsume got quiet for a bit, taking a deep breath and holding her friend’s hand gently, looking at him with her warm eyes.

 

“You’re mom told me about your disability,” Natsume admitted, looking at Touma with a kind and reassuring look in her eyes. “But, even if you’re a lot different from everyone, there’s one thing that matters the most.”

 

“W-What’s that?” Touma asked, still a bit doubtful.

 

“That you’re my friend, and I will make sure I’ve got your back no matter what,” Natsume answered, giving a sweet smile. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

 

“Do...Do you really mean it?” Touma doubtfully questioned, still pretty weepy with himself.

 

“I do absolutely mean it!” Natsume happily responded, giving Touma a small gentle smooch on the cheek. “Before and after I knew that about you, nothing about our friendship will ever change.”

 

Touma paused for a moment, his tears starting to finally dry up. “Natsume...” He began, starting to give the girl a sweet and gentle hug. “Thank you...”

 

The two stayed close for a little bit longer, before finally getting up. Natsume made sure to hold Touma’s hand the entire time. “Now, let’s get back home now, yeah?”

 

“Y-yeah!” Touma happily responded, finally feeling better.

 

The two happily headed home, safe and sound without any troubles. Natsume would do her best to make sure Touma was happy and safe, never to fall into that pit of darkness again. He was different, sure, but no two people, yokai, or whatever were ever the same anyways.

 

All that mattered was that they were friends, and very close ones at that.


End file.
